Mel's New Catch

Here's my new catch! 1 Sea trout and 2 mackerels as shown in the picture. All are filleted and boned. I caught 9 mackerels and 1 Sea trout in total. I am a super fisherwoman now! What will be next? sharks? Ha, ha,ha.

Southern Lights Festival

The Southern Lights Festival is a family friendly Circus and Street Arts Festival set in the heart of Dorset's Jurassic coast surrounded by beautiful sea views.  There you will see  circus performers and instructors from all over the country coming together for a fantastic weekend of learning and fun.  Last weekend, Mel enjoyed  being there with Andy and his mother, Wendy as guests of Andy's brother Duncan, who was a performer. 

It certainly is a different way of spending a fun weekend.

Mel's Catch

Here is my very first catch of mackerels. I caught them from the kayak of Bournemouth beach.  I caught 7 in total but only kept four because the others weren't big enough.

 

Here are  my mackerels cooked, how  delicious!  Two different recipes:  beer battered mackerel with salt, pepper and aniseed and another one grilled with bay leaf and garlic!   

Update On Mel

Mel  had an interview yesterday with EF Language School  (a prestigious international language school)  and...she got the Job! Finally!!! She will start in 3 weeks and it will run for a couple of months through  summer.  Her job will be an Activity Leader, this means going out with the students and keeping them busy and safe. Mel  will be running different activities including: volleyball on the beach, day trips to London, Oxford, Cambridge and surroundings.. She will  have to learn different games and the EF dance at the EF disco...all good fun!!! It will give her  a lot of experience and confidence in dealing with youngsters.

                                                                                                                          

In the meantime, she is helping  out as a volunteer in her favourite Nature Reserve called Brownsea island.   They have been  clearing Rhododendron, an invasive plant that kills all the other surrounding  plants on the ground.  It was a hard work but very rewarding, according to her.  She got up at 7h30am, cycled for 40 mins along the beach and then caught a little ferry to the island where she  met a few interesting people and also learnt a bit more about the way they manage and conserve this natural reserve. It was very instructive for her, she said.

On Sunday she will  also be  volunteering on another project, where again she has to get the bike and  catch a ferry, but this time it  will be in celebration of World Oceans Day. She will help out in different activities such as an underwater film show, egg hunting and many  more, all having  to do with marine conservation.

I am really happy for her because now she will be doing something she likes to do and not only to be working  for the money.  I remember when she was  a teen and she used to get  catalogues from EF Language School so she could study English abroad.  Now she will be working for them.  Good luck Mel! Hope this new job leads to another longer lasting career.

Everyday is a mission, each day a plan and sometimes you just have to follow your heart.

Source:  Mel's email  of June 3, 2011